Dynamics of random hydrophobic-hydrophilic copolymers with implications for protein folding

Abstract

We study the dynamics of a single amphiphilic random copolymer chain. The dynamical treatment shows that in addition to the collapse temperature, T_θ , there exists a scale dependent glass transition temperature T_G(l). Distinct scenarios for the glassy behavior emerges depending on the relative values of T_θ and T_G(l). The possible implications of our results for protein folding, including an estimate of the dependence of the ratio of the folding transition temperature to T_G(l) on the length of the chain, are sketched.